One question about the Russia investigation is prompting a 'robust discussion' in the Republican Party

Republican Party officials are trying to decide who will pay for the outside attorneys hired to represent President Donald Trump and members of his administration in the Russia investigation, The Washington Post reported Thursday night.

Trump and several top administration officials, including his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, have hired personal counsel to represent them as the Russia inquiry moves through the US Justice Department and congressional committees.

Donald Trump, Jr., who has taken heat for nearly a week for agreeing to meet with a Russian lawyer who promised to deliver damaging information about Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign, hired a criminal attorney on Monday.

The Republican National Committee had been talking about how legal fees would be handled. It has been a subject of “robust discussion,” according to three people with knowledge of the talks who were cited by The Post. It is unclear whether Trump, Kushner, or Trump Jr. are paying their own legal fees.

The RNC has not yet determined whether money in the organisation’s legal defence fund can be used to defend Trump administration officials who may be pulled into the Russia investigation, The Post said. The fund is normally used to cover party-related expenses like election recounts.